Through His Eyes
by HiddenInTheTardis
Summary: The Doctor had always been intrigued by human idiosyncrasies. Rose was no exception. Ten/Rose.
1. Rose's Bathroom

_Hello all! Welcome to my new story, Through His Eyes. Gambit Junction was fun to write, and there will be two sequels, but I felt I needed to write something a little more light-hearted for now. And this is what I came up with. As always, your comments are more than welcome. Hope you enjoy xx_

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

Through His Eyes

Chapter One: Rose's Bathroom

Through his eyes, she'd always been a bit of a mystery. With all the years he'd spent with humans, on their planet, mingling with their cultures, people seemed to assume that he understood them. But nothing was further from the truth. Sure, he understood their passion for life, their courage, their stupidity, but he never really understood _people_. And when he met her, he thought it was just his luck to find someone who seemed to epitomise human idiosyncrasy. And it puzzled him.

----

The Doctor was bored. He really had no idea what to do. Rose was somewhere in the bowels of the ship, looking for something she'd misplaced. He'd offered to help but ended up distracting her by showing her various objects he'd accumulated over the years, and burying them both in a pile of miscellaneous debris from ancient, dusty shelves. A rather dishevelled and angry Rose had made her way out of the pile of dusty papers and clutter, and ordered him to go and find something to do. So he'd gone to fix the TARDIS, although the poor old girl had insisted she was fine and really didn't need fixing. He'd eventually made such a nuisance of himself that she'd spat sparks at him, causing him to recoil and curse her quietly.

So now he sat staring at the console, swinging his legs underneath the chair. He sighed, and looked at his watch, which was pointless, he realised. He cleared his throat and sighed again. He couldn't bear it any longer. He _had _to find something to do.

He left the control room and took to wandering the corridors in an aimless fashion. He eventually came across a door that piqued his interest. It had a strange aqua mosaic around the doorknob. He knew what this was. Rose's bathroom.

Now, please don't misunderstand. The Doctor was definitely _not_ in the habit of sneaking into his friend's personal rooms while they were otherwise occupied. But he was so utterly bored, and he hadn't been in this room since before she'd arrived...

He looked over his shoulder to check Rose wasn't anywhere around, before slowly opening the door and sneaking inside.

Inside, he sighed in dismay. He hardly recognised the place. The original calm of the room had been overcrowded with bottles, lotions, sprays, electronic devices, cotton wool, towels and clothes. Not that it was particularly messy, just full of products he couldn't identify. This made him grumpy. After all, he was the last of the Time Lords, the ultimate explorer. It seemed unthinkable that something like this should remain unexplored in his own ship.

He started looking around with interest, picking up bottles, reading the labels, opening caps and sniffing the contents. He found one he particularly liked; he had no idea what it was or what it did but it smelled of bananas. He slipped it into his pocket, making a mental note to buy Rose a new bottle when they next visited 21st Century Earth.

He found a strange black device plugged into the wall. He turned it over in his hands, and noticed it opened and closed like flat scissors. He saw a switch on the side, and, being the Doctor, he _had _to switch it on. And almost immediately he dropped it on the floor.

"Ow!"

It was getting hot. And he suddenly realised what it was. Hair straighteners! He'd seen her looking at something similar in a shop window. He picked them up again, careful to avoid the hot plates. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Why not...?

When he'd finished, he smiled approvingly at his new look, and continued exploring the room. He found a plastic container of powder, and sniffed it, making him sneeze, and covering him in pink dust. He hurriedly put it down.

As he made his way around the room his eyes fell on a row of brightly coloured little bottles. He was fascinated. Pink and orange and blue and green and purple and red and black...

He picked one up, and looked at the label. 'Ultra Fast Intense Colour Long Lasting Varnish,' it read. The Doctor frowned. He thought he knew what she used this for...

He opened the bottle, and sniffed, at once regretting it as the pungent smell assaulted his nose. He gagged a little, but was still intrigued by the bright colours. Surely it couldn't hurt...

When his nails were dry, he decided to investigate the cupboards, and was fascinated by a small, strange item. It was flat like paper, but clear like plastic. And it appeared to be made of two sheets with an orange goo in the middle. He tried to sniff it, but couldn't smell anything. So he decided to open it...

----

A while later, Rose returned to her room triumphant after her search for her blue hooded top. She threw it down on her bed and noticed the door to her bathroom was ajar. She frowned, and headed over. She opened the door wide and stared at the sight in front of her.

The Doctor was perched on the edge of her bath, his face pink and powdery. His hair was poker-straight, but because of the product he regularly used on it, it had stuck up all over at bizarre angles. His fingernails where painted messily, each a different colour, and a large splodge of yellow polish had stained his pinstripe jacket. And he was fighting with a wax strip that had got stuck to the hair on the back of his hand, making him a very sorry sight indeed.

Rose didn't know whether to laugh or scream. But she ended up just whimpering in delight. The Doctor looked up, momentarily distracted from his ordeal. He gulped, and grinned awkwardly.

"Hi?" he offered.

Rose just smiled, shook her head hopelessly, pulled her phone from her pocket, and aimed it at the Doctor. Before he could protest, Rose was running back into her room with her phone to her ear.

"Mum, I'm sending you a photo. The funniest thing you've _ever_ seen...!"

----

_Hope you enjoyed, please review. Look out for chapter 2! xx_


	2. Manners

_Hi lovely readers! I'm so pleased everyone seems to be enjoying this story; I gotta say its fun to write too! As always, big hugs in return for reviews xx_

Chapter 2: Manners

"I can't believe you just asked her that!" Rose stormed into the TARDIS, slamming the door into the Doctor's face as he hurried behind her, his blank expression a real picture.

"What?! I really don't get it, what's so bad about asking that? It was a simple, straightforward question! And anyway, she brought up the subject to start with!"

Rose sighed in frustration, hopped up onto the Captain's chair and glared at the confused Doctor. "That's not the point!"

"Then what is?"

Rose shook her head. When she'd first met him, she'd quickly realised that he could be rude and obnoxious, but back then he was rude and obnoxious when he _meant it_. Now, in this new body, for all it's charisma and... appeal, he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his mouth often got carried away and kept on gabbing long after his brain had finished.

She tried to reason with him. "How would you feel if someone said that to you?"

"No one would say that to me!"

"Well, what if someone said something to you that offended you?"

He grinned, reached in his pocket and brought out his sonic screwdriver. Rose sighed again.

"No, that's not an option."

He felt a little crestfallen at that, and thought hard, rocking his heels. "Well, generally a lot of people don't like me. Usually important people. Like this one time, I found myself in the White House, and-"

"Doctor!"

He shut his mouth abruptly and looked at her. "What?"

She racked her brain trying to think of an example that would make him understand.

"What if someone said to you... you're stupid?"

"A lot of people have said that, but they're wrong, aren't they? I don't need to prove how smart I am, you of all people know that!" He crossed his arms, pleased with himself.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Okay, bad example. How about... if someone said they hate bananas?"

The Doctor shrugged, unconcerned. "All the more for me, then. Oh, can we go buy some?!"

"Trying to make a point here!"

"I meant later," he added sheepishly.

Rose strolled around the console, her fingers playing idly over the controls. She smiled as a new idea entered her head. "What if someone said they didn't believe the TARDIS was living?"

The lights around her dimmed disapprovingly, and she quickly apologised to the ship.

The Doctor grinned at her, feeling he had won this argument. "You see? I just _don't _get offended. Really."

Rose frowned at his smug face, and that gave her a thought. "What if I said you look nerdy? Especially with your glasses."

He sniffed disdainfully. "Nothing wrong with 'nerdy.'"

"What if I don't like 'nerdy'?"

The Doctor grinned at her, his eyes piercing her. "Now, Rose, I know _that's_ not true."

Rose blushed a little, remembering how she'd felt her heart almost skip a beat when he'd arrived at her mum's flat on Christmas Day with his new look.

His new look...

"Okay, I've got one!" she yelled eagerly. "I don't like you any more."

He frowned at her suspiciously. "Why not?"

"Because you're not ginger!"

His eyes widened in horror, his mouth opening and closing like a carp but refusing to vocalise. He eventually managed a squeaky disapproval before fleeing into the depths of the TARDIS.

Rose grinned to herself. "Gotcha!"

----

Rose found the Doctor in the wardrobe room, staring at his reflection in the mirror and playing self-consciously with his hair. She grinned, and headed over to him, putting a comforting hand on his arm. The Doctor frowned at her. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course not."

"But you said it!"

"And that's my point. You said something to that poor woman that's gonna make her feel down for days, and it didn't even bother you. You've gotta start thinking before you speak."

The Doctor sighed, deep in thought. "Maybe I could just keep asking you if I'm being rude."

Rose shook her head. "Nope, not good enough. You've got to see it for yourself."

The Doctor sighed, utterly deflated. "Not promising anything," he mumbled.

Rose squeezed his arm affectionately. "As long as you try. Now come on, back outside; go and apologise to the tour guide."

He nodded reluctantly, and followed her towards the door. "But _she _mentioned babies, I just assumed she was expecting!"

"Doctor!"

He groaned. Then he frowned again, his hand flying back up to his hair. "You know, I could always dye it-"

"Dye it and _you _die!"

He swallowed nervously at her stern tone. "Right; no ginger."

_----_

_Hope you like. You know what to do ;) xx_


	3. Cravings

_Thanks again for all the lovely reviews. Hope you like chapter three xx_

Chapter 3: Cravings

The Doctor watched with intrigue as the last of the chocolate bar disappeared into Rose's mouth. She scrumpled up the wrapper and sighed contentedly to herself, before noticing the Doctor was watching her, and frowned.

"What?"

"S'just... interesting."

"Chocolate is interesting?"

He shook his head. "No; why you just ate a big bar all in one go like that."

Rose scowled at him.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," he added meekly.

Rose nodded. "I've just been craving it. Don't you get cravings every now and then?"  
The Doctor thought. "Bananas."

Rose giggled. "Apart from bananas."

"Jelly babies."

"I guess that counts." She stood up, ready to head out of the room. "Well, give it some thought. Don't you just fancy chips sometimes?"

He watched her leave, a new quandary fixated in his mind. He'd never really thought about it. _Did_ he get cravings? He unconsciously let his mind wander to Rose, and smiled to himself, before shaking his head and focusing on _food_ cravings. What did he crave? Chocolate, baked beans, crisps, fried eggs...? He reeled off a list of random foods in his head, and suddenly found his stomach rumbling. So he got up and headed to the kitchen, looking in every cupboard for something to munch on. He eventually looked up at the counter-top and saw a banana. Immediately his eyes lit up and he grabbed for it eagerly. He turned around and his smile dropped when he saw Rose watching him, a grin spread across her face.

"What?" he asked.

"That's the best you can do? A banana? That's so predictable!"

"Bananas are _never_ predictable," he retorted, pointing the fruit at her. Rose shook her head with a smile, and strolled past him to the fridge and found a yoghurt, picked a biscuit from the biscuit tin and headed out of the room with them.

"You hungry?" he called.

She just nodded, and left him alone in the kitchen.

----

A few hours later the Doctor was spending some quiet time reading a dusty book in the library, when a warm, oily smell wandered down the corridor and into the room. He looked up and towards the door, where Rose appeared a moment later, a huge bowl of chips in her hands. She flopped down on the squashy sofa next to the Doctor, cooing over her snack. The smell made the Doctor's stomach rumble, and he leaned over to her.

"They smell good."

"Mmhmm," she replied through a mouthful.

The Doctor looked longingly at the chips, and reached over to take one. But Rose smacked his hands away.

"Doctor! You're not_ craving_ chips, are you?" she asked cheekily.

The Doctor shook his head determinedly. "Nope."

"Sure?"

"Yep."

But as he watched her slowly savour the unhealthy snack, he found he could focus on nothing else.

In the end, he closed his book with a bang, and announced that something needed replacing in the control room. And he was gone. Rose was sure she heard his stomach rumble from the corridor. She grinned to herself. She knew she'd get him with chips!

----

The Doctor was pacing around in the control room. Why did Rose have to have chips? He'd always loved chips, but he'd never really _craved_ them. But now it was all he could think of. Rose was asleep now, but the smell was still lingering in the air. So unfair!

_Try to think of something else..._

_ChipsChipsChipsChipsChips!_

He groaned. He _had_ to have chips.

He ran quietly through the ship, heading for the kitchen. But to his dismay, he found there was no cooking oil, and no potatoes. _What are the chances!_

He suddenly had a brainwave. He sneaked back to the control room, and made his way around the control panel, pressing levers and buttons. The TARDIS seemed to catch on, and the time rotor started quietly, landing discreetly. He grinned at his beloved ship, and tiptoed over to the door. Outside it was a gloomy evening and rain was thrashing from the sky, being hurled in every direction by the wind. The Doctor groaned, and covered his head with the back of his coat.

He made his way over to a row of little shops, to one that was called "General Groceries." But the sign said the shop was closed. He sighed in frustration, and banged on the door. A short, stocky man with an overgrown moustache appeared from the back of the shop, and frowned at the thin, drenched man stood at his door. The Doctor pleaded through the glass.

"Please, do you sell potatoes, and cooking oil?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, and pointed at the 'closed' sign.

"PleasePleasePleasePleasePlease?"

The man sighed, and reluctantly opened the door. The Doctor grinned at him with a big "Thank you!" and flew through the shop, grabbing the first bottle of cooking oil and a bag of potatoes. He ran over to the counter, and fished in his pockets for change.

He found none.

He grinned at the frowning shop keeper. "Hah, eh, funny story..."

----

The Doctor ran into the TARDIS and slammed the door behind him. He turned with a flourish, dropping the oil, which smashed and spilled all over the floor. And there was Rose, watching this disaster, grinning her head off.

The Doctor sighed, gazing at her with big brown eyes, rain trickling from his hair into his eyes.

"What?"

"So you really want chips, eh?"

The Doctor nodded enthusiastically.

"You know there's a bag of frozen chips in the freezer?"

The Doctor closed his eyes in disbelief. "What?"


	4. Infatuations

_Yo!_

_I can't pull that off, can I? Never mind lol. On with the story xx_

Chapter 4: Infatuation

Rose smiled warmly at the photograph in her lap. It was an old one, frayed at the edges, but it held some fold memories of her teen years. She set it aside, and looked inside the box again.

Her mother had given her this shoe box on their last visit, saying it was a few things she'd found when she was clearing up. She'd said she thought Rose might want to keep them, "you know, memories."

And with all the adventures they'd had lately, laughs they'd shared and tears they'd shed, this was the first opportunity Rose had had to open the box and look at the contents. She'd taken time away from the Doctor and his tinkering to go to her room and play over the memories in private. All these things: photos, a worn diary from when she was fourteen, a letter she'd written to Jimmy Stones but never posted, and so many more things, made her feel suddenly very old. All these things seemed to be from another life, even someone else's life...

"Never known you so quiet."

Rose jumped a little and turned to the voice behind her, her eyes shedding a few tears that had been building up. The Doctor stood facing her at the foot of her bed, his eyes full of interest and concern. Rose smiled and beckoned for him to come and sit next to her. He obliged, looking over her shoulder at the box of trinkets.

"My mum's box, just... stuff from before."

She picked up a 'best friends' key chain from the collection and stroked it affectionately with her thumb. "'S'stupid, really."

The Doctor shook his head and stroked her arm soothingly. "No, it's not. It's important to you."

He reached to her bedside table and passed her a tissue. She accepted it gratefully. The Doctor sighed quietly, and looked down at the bed. He noticed the picture she'd set aside, picked it up, and discreetly put it in his pocket, before leaving Rose alone with her thoughts.

When he was back in the control room, he took a look at the photo. It showed Rose, about seventeen years old, fresh faced and smiling, not a care in the world. The Doctor smiled affectionately at her beaming face, but his smile fell at the sight of the figure whose arm was draped around her.

He'd felt a little guilty about Mickey ever since the latter had decided to stay in the other universe. Neither he or Rose had really spoken about it since the fateful day, and if he was honest, he was happy about it. In the end, he'd respected the guy, but there was just something about him. Something that made the Doctor extra protective of Rose, like he had to put himself between her and Mickey. And he didn't like that about himself.

As he sat there, gazing up at the TARDIS's time rotor, he felt his beloved ship brush against the back of his mind. He always felt her presence, but it was a rare occasion when she actually asserted herself to talk to him directly.

_**Why are you obsessing over things that don't matter any more?**_

The Doctor sighed and shook his head. "I don't know," he said quietly.

_**Theta, I can see inside your head; don't lie to me.**_

The Doctor sighed in frustration. "How do I know if I'm infatuated?"

_**You said yourself often enough that you don't feel those type of emotions.**_

He nodded vigorously, trying to convince himself as much as his ship. "That's right. Humans experience infatuation. I am a Time Lord. I do not."

_**You know that's not true.**_

He groaned. "I know."

The TARDIS tickled the back of his head with a tinkling laugh. _**Then why deny it?**_

"You know why!" he snapped.

"Who are you talking to?"

The Doctor jumped at the sound and looked round to find Rose stood watching him, her face recovered from her emotions earlier.

"Rose, I... didn't hear you come in."

She nodded, concern spreading across her face.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, a false smile fixed on his lips. He suddenly sprang to life and flew around the console, pulling levers and pressing buttons. The TARDIS shuddered and groaned, and landed with a little thump. He looked over at Rose expectantly, who grinned at is eagerness. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the doors. He jumped at the contact of her hand in his, her warm skin against his cool palm. He soon found himself outside at their destination, watching Rose lapping up her surroundings in amazement.

The TARDIS had landed in a beautiful meadow with neatly cut grass, neat circular lakes trimmed with purple brick, thin dark trees covered in delicate shimmering leaves and blossoms that had their own wings and flew away from the branches on a whim. The horizon was littered with miniature purple-blue mountains covered with diamond-shine snow. The sky was pale purple, and shone down on the pale grass, making it gleam and shimmer and shiver with life.

"The Galapta Meadows on Cierach 9," the Doctor told her. "Not very well known, so it's usually pretty quiet. Best sunsets in the galaxy, though."

Rose beamed at him, all traces of sadness gone from her face. The Doctor was pleased at that. He didn't like to see her upset.

They walked hand in hand under the delicate boughs of the mystical trees, through the meadow. Rose sighed contentedly, and leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor froze. _No, I'm not infatuated. I'm really, really not..._

He suddenly found himself being pulled to the floor arm-first. Rose had found the perfect spot for them to watch the sunset, in the long grass on a hill overlooking a glassy lake below. They were under the shade of two delicate trees, blowing their blossoms hither and thither. The sun was setting over the raggedy mountains on the horizon, and Rose gazed at the scene laid out in front of her in wonder. But the Doctor only had eyes for her.

Rose grinned as violet light shone from the setting star, and squinted a little as vast rays of sunlight spread over the valley. She shielded her eyes by leaning her face into the Doctor's shoulder, making his hearts race. He looked down at her, cuddled into the lapels of his jacket. Her hair had blown over her cheeks, and a few lilac blossoms settled in it, decorating her wonderfully. The Doctor smiled, and absent-mindedly picked the flower from her hair. He froze, his eyes wide when he realised what he was doing.

_Stop it stop it stop it!_

Rose sighed happily into his shoulder, making him shudder with excitement. He closed his eyes and focused.

_I'm not infatuated, I'm not infatuated, I'm not infatuated..._

----

_Hope you like, let me know xx_


	5. Celebrations

_Hello, lovely readers. Well, thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, favouriting the story etc. In this chapter, the Doctor and Rose visit Earth for Christmas 2006 and New Year 2007, so it doesn't really fit in line with the TV series, where Rose would be in the other Universe xx_

Chapter 5: Celebrations

Rose tapped her foot impatiently on the metal grating floor of the TARDIS control room.

"What do you think? Doctor?"

The Doctor shook himself out of his reverie, and stared wide-eyed at Rose. He was supposed to have been listening. But he'd found himself gazing at her; her soft, golden hair, her creamy skin, her beautiful, piercing eyes...

And now he found those eyes staring at him in great annoyance, awaiting his reply.

"Well," she asked expectantly.

"Um..." his mind spun like the planets as he tried to think of an appropriate answer. "...Three?"

"What?"

"Um..."

"Were you listening?"

"Yes!" he replied indignantly.

"Well, what do you think, then. Can we? Please?"

The Doctor gulped. What exactly had she asked him?

"Um... Yes," he said hopefully.

Rose's face broke into a grin, and she hugged him close. "Thank you. My mum will be so happy."

The Doctor smiled at the hug, and wrapped her in his arms. But that sentence hit him like a rock.

"What? Your mum?"

Rose pulled back a little to look at him. "Yeah. You just said, Christmas at my mum's."

The rock hit the Doctor's stomach, and his face fell. "Oh, I thought you said... something else."

Rose frowned at him, folding her arms crossly. "You weren't listening, were you?!"

_How am I supposed to listen when you're looking at me with those big, lovely eyes...?_ The Doctor grinned to himself, not noticing Rose's glare. He'd decided after their visit to the Galapta Meadows on Cierach 9 that there was no point denying his feelings. But he also knew that it wasn't something as straightforward as infatuation, either. However, he couldn't quite admit even to himself exactly what he _did _feel.

And now Rose was glaring at him_ again_.

"Right. Christmas, you're mum's place."

He stood staring at her blankly, wondering exactly what she was expecting him to do. Rose nodded towards the console.

"C'mon, then."

"What, now?"

"Yeah."

"O.........kay..." he stalled. "Um... I've just got something I have to do before we go."

"Okay, but make it quick, please."

----

Four hours later, Rose was still waiting in the control room, perched impatiently on the edge of the captain's chair, watching the Doctor tinkering with wires under the metal flooring. She was getting cross. He'd already fixed a broken dial on the console, replaced the wiring for the chameleon circuit (then un-fixed it when he remembered he actually liked the TARDIS looking like a blue box), fixed a leaky pipe in the spare bathroom, and polished the time rotor. Rose knew he was procrastinating.

"Doctor, come _on_, when are we going to see my mum?"

The Doctor cringed, and poked his head out from the grating. He knew he was running out of excuses, but he was really _not_ looking forward to seeing Jackie. He jumped up out of the floor and closed the hatch. He thought fast.

"Um... one minute, I've just got to... go change my shirt."

"You look fine. Let's go."

He groaned.

Rose jumped up from her chair, and headed over to him. She rested her chin on his shoulder, gazing up at him with big, soft eyes.

"Come on, Doctor, I know you don't really get on with my mum, but it's Christmas."

"Yeah, it'll just be the same as last year, the Turkey, the crackers-"

"-The Sycorax, the Regeneration?"

The Doctor grinned. "Okay, probably not _exactly_ the same."

Rose smiled and tugged at his sleeve. C'mon, then."

He sighed, and gave in.

----

"The twenty-ninth?!" Rose shrieked as her mother informed her of the date. They both turned angrily to the Doctor. He took a shaky step backwards under their menacing stares.

"How could you make her miss _Christmas?_" Jackie screeched, before slamming the door in his face and leaving him alone in the corridor.

The Doctor took a moment to work out what had just happened. He _might_ have got the coordinates a little wrong, but it was only a _few_ days off. He shuffled his feet on the grubby floor, and decided to go for a walk.

There had been no snow this year, an apparently mild festive season. The Doctor made his way to the local park, and sat down on a damp bench under a wilting tree. He sighed. He couldn't understand humans' obsession with these types of holidays, even if he _did_ enjoy being part of them. Sometimes. Two Christmases in a row would be getting _too_ domestic. Still, he hated to let Rose down.

He was so deep in thought he didn't notice a figure sitting down next to him. Not til she spoke.

"Don't worry about my mum, she'll get over it."

The Doctor looked at Rose, and smiled sadly. "But I wanted you to have a good time."

"I still got to see her." She looked around the glum, wintry park. "Don't suppose... we could go back...?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Timelines-"

"-Right."

The Doctor furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Then an idea struck him like a lightening bolt, and he sat up straight. He grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her back to the TARDIS.

----

"This was such a great idea, Doctor. Thank you."

They were back in Jackie's flat, but this time, it was full of happy, excited people, alcohol, and laughter. Music drifted through the place, along with Jackie's overbearing voice chatting to an uncomfortable-looking guy in the corner.

The Doctor looked at Rose and smiled at her happy face. She grinned back excitedly.

"But you know, we could have waited a couple of days for New Year, we didn't have to jump in the TARDIS and fly here."

The Doctor nodded, but shuddered at the thought of two days spent with Jackie. _Way too domestic_. He knew he'd made the right decision.

He looked down at Rose's beaming face, and at that moment, he knew why stuff like this was so important. For a split second, he understood. He saw it through _her _eyes. And he knew, in that moment, that he loved her.

At that moment Jackie's voice shattered the relative peace of the party.

"It's time, everybody. Get ready for the countdown!!!"

The countdown didn't even penetrate the Doctor's ears. His whole world was Rose, this wonderful woman looking up at him with excitement in her eyes, and something else... was it love? He had to know. And, as clueless he was about most human traditions, he knew about this one.

"_Three, Two, One... HAPPY NEW YEAR!_"

Just at that moment, Rose pulled the Doctor into a hug, burying her face in his shoulder. He sighed in frustration. He'd missed his chance.

----

"Come on everyone, the pub's waiting!" Jackie hollered. Slowly the flat began to empty, leaving the Doctor and Rose trailing at the back. The Doctor groaned. "I hate pubs."  
Rose grinned. "We don't have to go, if you don't want."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, we'll go. Spend time with your mum."

Rose saw how he cringed at the thought, and smiled affectionately. "Thank you Doctor. And..."

"Yeah?"

"Happy New Year."

He grinned at her as she headed to the door. He knew this was his chance. It was a bit domestic, but, hell, he didn't mind, for her.

Before Rose knew what was happening, he pulled her close to him and kissed her.

_Happy New Year, Rose._

----

_I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me with my stories. I am going to be taking a break from writing Doctor Who, I'll be writing on instead. Thanks once again everyone xx_


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